Chimpomatic

The ICA - a different kind of ambience to some of the gigs I've frequented of late.  What a cultured group of individuals are to be found snuggling in this cozy nook just up the road from her maj. OK, so no one jumps around when the band finish a number, but on the positive side I won't go home wearing half a pint of Red Bull like I did at Les ....read more

I diligently prepared for this review of Yeasayer's new album 'Odd Blood' by re-listening to their debut 'All Hour Cymbals'. The Chimp in charge assigned that disc a mediocre 2.5 stars. Unfair I think, since it struck me as an upbeat collection of songs - melody driven, varied and full of eclectic, instrumental experimentation... otherwise descri ....read more

My initial reaction to 'Dag för Dag', was to obsess inappropriately over the umlaut at the centre of the band's name. I can now confirm that 'Dag för Dag' translates literally as 'Day by Day' (not some marketing executive's idea of a promotional tool) and that not only in name but in music too, these guys are the real thing. American-Sw ....read more

In no particular order: Animal Collective – Feels or Strawberry Jam I remember getting very scared, when I was a kid, that, mathematically, there was only a limited number of songs possible - limited number of notes and limited number of combinations. When would they run out? ARRGGH!!!! Then I heard Animal Collective and I realised it was ....read more

The Album Leaf’s new record ‘A Chorus of Storytellers’ is a very nice album. They’ve been recording for the last ten years and are signed to Sub Pop records, which should tell you something, although I’ve never heard of them before. Possibly because they’re so nice. You know like one of those people that you get ....read more

This record is, I guess, the equivalent of a group of young London musicians getting together to re-create the "swinging sound of Carnaby Street" or something else that only existed in the minds of scriptwriters. Citay are from San Francisco, and so this painfully retro album has its feet not exactly planted (more levitating) on the corn ....read more

The 00s have certainly been a turbulent decade for the music industry, from the rise and fall of Napster, through the MP3 and iPod revolution and on to the reality TV dominated close of the decade. Drum and bass infiltrated pop music so throughly that it's now just part of the furniture, while Hip Hop blew up to dominate the US charts, nabbing a g ....read more

The 00s have certainly been a turbulent decade for the music industry, from the rise and fall of Napster, through the MP3 and iPod revolution and on to the reality TV dominated close of the decade. Drum and bass infiltrated pop music so throughly that it's now just part of the furniture, while Hip Hop blew up to dominate the US charts, nabbing a g ....read more

A Serious Man? A seriously boring film. ....read more

As a quick precursor to the Best of the 00s list I'm currently editing, here's my Top 5 albums of 2009. Not a stellar year compared to 2007 or 2008, but there's certainly been a few stand outs. John Frusciante - The Empyrean He didn't tell us he'd left the Chili Peppers, but Frusciante's latest solo album certainly upped the anti on 2004's marat ....read more

Titus Andronicus - The Airing of Grievances Rip roaring The XX - XX A late entry John Frusciante - The Empyrean Mr prolific returns Doom - Born Like This Quality in a struggling genre Ian Brown - My Way Despite his pedestrian lyrics still doing his own thing well. Gig of the year (didn't go to enough) Micah P Hinson - Zaragoza, Spain&nbs ....read more

It's been a crazy old year 2009, not quite the end of the modern world as predicted from the rubble of 2008 but strange nonetheless. And what better soundtrack for utter misery than the New Jersey new boys Titus Andronicus who stole the show for me early on this year. Heavyweights Sonic Youth returned with the solid The Eternal and Doves continued ....read more

How come ATP get it so right? Sponsorship free, friendly and helpful, smooth organisation and a great fan-base - and the music. Imagine, a festival where the music is the important thing - not the TV exposure or the availability of drugs to make you dance - a place where the crowd will listen patiently to new music instead of baying for a chart-top ....read more

Yes, they do look like overgrown smurfs running around some Ferngully-like forest that's been designed by Roger Dean in the style of a giant 3D Yes cover - but so what?! This is  an amazing film experience - and one that looks loads better than in does in the trailers (for once). The story's pretty generic once you break it down - basically a ....read more

I can't claim to be any kind of authority on video games. My history of gaming is patchy to say the least, having been an early gamer back when we used "home computers" for such things, but then never owning a PS2. Also, I tend to stick to games which involve shooting at things - so if you're looking for a well-balanced, concise round-up ....read more

While the Pavement reunion is hogging the column inches, no one has really stopped to consider if we actually need a Pavement reunion. Sure, they are one of the defining bands of the 90's, but unlike the Pixies, Pavement perhaps reached the dizziest heights they are likely to within their own life span. And let's not forget, main man Stephen Malkmu ....read more